Dropping 3rd FPP to get something else?

@AuntB_luvsDisney and @Nicky_S, I just saw something Len said in an older post about FP+ that confuses me a little.

This seems to imply that if you only book 1 or 2 FP+ in advance, once you use those up you can get another FP+ in Tier 1 in the same park. Do you know if this is the case, or if Len was mistaken? Or maybe things have changed since 2014 when he wrote that?

Yes, I tested that and did it quite awhile ago. Was at Epcot, was able to tap in at Soarin’ and then book a ride at MK and Fantasmic at HS once I’d scanned at the first. I tried to look through my old pics (know I had one showing it) but can’t find it right now. This was at least a year ago though so can’t swear it hasn’t changed. I’ll try to test it the next time I have free FP’s available in a park.

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@Beth33 - you definitely can’t do what he suggests there (get a second Tier 1 in the same park without using, tapping, or passing the windows of two Tier 2’s). You could do it for another park (ride Soarin’ then immediately grab one for RnRC for example).

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Great examples! I finally understand!

Could you also see if it works by booking just one first or if it is connected to canceling?

Hey, we just got back from our trip. I am not sure if this helps you, but here is what we did… We booked FoP, EE, and DINOSAUR back to back in the AM for AK in advance of our trip. After scanning into FoP, we attempted to modify DINOSAUR so that we could look at availability at MK. The normal warnings did not pop up, the system simply would not allow us to get past by “Continuing” with each guest. Not sure why, or if we did something wrong. I also attempted to get through the “Add a FP” process and same thing. We were blocked and could not bypass. However, I took a chance and just deleted my DINOSAUR FP, then went through the “Add” process and selected MK. The system allowed me to add an MK FP, even though I was still holding EE. The result was that I was holding EE and Winnie the Pooh in MDE at the same time.

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Thanks!

Another way to do this would be to check the Lines app for the next available FPP. That way, you would know what FastPasses are available at the other park before cancelling your third FPP. The main TouringPlans website also lists all the available FPP slots for the current day (eg. Magic Kingdom | Disney World | Touring Plans | Crowd Calendar | Wait Times | Park Hours | Attractions | Dining)

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Great info I think I get it although I am not sure I am the type of person that could leave this to chance on the day…gives me heart palpitations

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In most cases it would make sense to use all three FP reservations well in advance. But here’s our scenario: We’re going to Epcot for EMH, so I booked morning Fastpasses for Test Track, Mission Space, and um… Spaceship Earth. But the reality is that it shouldn’t be difficult to do Spaceship Earth during EMH, so I dropped that one because we’ll be going to HS in the afternoon.

Now, once I use my first FPP at 9:20, I’m hoping to be able to book one of the headliner attractions at the Studios for that afternoon. This should give us a leg up on people who have to wait until they’ve used all three of their initial FP allocation before trying to book a fourth. It’s also an advantage for folks like us who like to take a midday break and hop to a different park in the evening

Just as a follow up to my own post, we’re back from our trip now and this situation worked out exactly as I had hoped. We used our first FPP at Test Track and then we were able to immediately book a late-afternoon FPP at Rockin Roller Coaster.

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Glad it worked out for you. RnR is a popular FP, so it shows this FP “trick” works so well.

I use “trick” since it’s not well known. For probably obvious reasons. Trying to explain how FP+ works is one thing, trying to explain the intricate details like this on paper is nigh on impossible! It takes a while to get your head around it! In fact I’ve had one person refuse to believe it at all… :joy:

There was a recent thread on the WDW Reddit sub that took this even one level further. You can book your original three FP+ reservations, and then you can “move up” your reservations and start getting your extra FP+ reservations earlier in the day.

So say you have this:
Mine Train for 9:00am to 10:00am
Big Thunder for 10:00am to 11:00am
Teacups for 11:00am to 12:00pm

Once you’ve scanned your magic band and are in the FP+ line for Mine Train, you can modify your FP+ for Big Thunder to something that’s available sooner – say, 9:30 - 10:30. Then go to Big Thunder at 9:30 and scan your magic band. While waiting in the FP+ return line, use the app to try and get an earlier time for teacups. Once you’ve scanned at teacups, you can start getting your next FP+

Admittedly, this only works if earlier slots are available – popular rides like 7DMT and Space Mountain are unlikely to have earlier timeslots. But last week at the MK we were able to use three Fastpasses in less than an hour (something like Buzz at 4:00, teacups at 4:20, and dumbo at 4:40) just by constantly checking the app and modifying the FP when an earlier one was available.

It really pays to understand the intricacies of the system, and I was amazed at how often Fastpasses were coming available, even for some popular rides at a busy time of year. My one caveat is this: constantly checking the app can also come across as antisocial, taking time away from what you’re really there for – to spend time with your friends & family. Sometimes it’s best to put the phone away and make time for the important people you’re with.

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Okay, so this scenario popped up today, our last park day. Had FPP for FOP, EE, dinosaur. Did them all yesterday too and had to be back at Boardwalk by 3 for DME. did the first 2, done by 11:45. Didn’t have interest in dinosaur. Would have grabbed a RnRC or ToT if available. But I couldn’t modify for a different park. I had to cancel dinosaur to even check a different park. Ended up not having what we wanted, so we stopped there anyway.

You can’t modify one of your initial 3 to a different park. You have to cancel first, as you found out.

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Yep. Even following the thread, I wasn’t exactly sure until I needed to make the change and actually go through the steps myself.

I so want to try this out, but sadly can’t.

I think that even if you have FPs left, you can check availability at another park.

If you use the + key, and select the party, date and park, you get a warning that existing FPs will be cancelled. If you go past that you can look at availability without losing your existing FPs. Only if you confirm it does it cancel the existing ones, otherwise you just back out.

But you have to use the Add function, rather than the Modify.

So having said you have to Cancel, I’m not 100% certain you do. I’m just confusing myself now though. :sweat_smile: But you definitely cannot Modify an FP to another park.

I think I just tried that (if I’m understanding correctly) and it wouldn’t let me check other parks. I currently have only one advance FP booked for one of my Epcot days. I just tried using the “+” key to add a second FP on that day and selected a different park (MK). It warned me that if I continue, it would cancel my existing Epcot FP. :confused:

You can’t do it in advance, because you can only pre-book in one park. But on the day, you will be able to.

Ah yes! I forgot that detail! So much to keep track of… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: